One of the current challenges in the urban climate researcharea mentions the standardization of procedures for data collection and analysis (OKE, 2005); this involvesnomenclatures and methods, so that the transmissionof the developed technology can be better understoodand applied in diverse realities.

Energy-efficiency benchmarking can be used to monitorchanges in overall efficiency of buildings. Benchmarkingmodels, based on energy-efficiency indicators are valuable tools for both public and private stakeholdersbecause they allow an improvement in the building energy management . For the last decade, some governmentshave used these tools to define their building regulations(M. Santamouris, 2005, W. Chung 2005). This paper tries to goes further, integrating a benchmarking and a modelling process, in the same energy efficiency analysis.

This research aims at developing new standardized typologiesof semitransparent double skin facades formed by an external semitransparent PV laminate, a wide air gap and a rear glass (Figure 1). There are actually many buildings in Europe which incorporate such activefacades, but all them have been designed as user defined projects and very few of them accurately evaluatethe feasibility of using the heat produced by the air channel.

In this paper, the design and development of a web databasefor the purpose of storing and processing data produced by a complete building energy analysis is presented. Additionally, a web site that provides access to the database as well as a set of processing functions is outlined.

This paper looks at the design and construction in 2006/2007 of a ‘green’ office building in Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington lies at 42 degrees South of the equator, in a region known as the ‘Roaring Forties’ due to the constant winds, making it an ideal situation for wind farms. While the temperature range in the city is moderate, the strong wind has severe climatic effects.

This paper describes major elements of the design of three low-energy solar homes in Canada. Two of these are part of a demonstration program. The major features of the houses are: 1. direct gain passive solar design that emphasizes utilization of distributed thermal mass in the south-facing part of the ground floor; 2. a building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BIPV/T) system; 3. a two-stage ground-source heat pump with ECM (electronically commutated motor) fan used to heat/cool air in the house or an air source heat pump using BIPV/T air as the source to heat a storage tank; 4.

This paper investigates the possibility of integrating thermal energy storage to the hot side of LiBr/H2O absorptioncooling system to cover 100% of peak cooling load for a three bedroom house on the hottest summer day in Cardiff, Wales. A shell and tube experimental systemwas designed to conduct charging and discharging experiments using Erythritol (melting point 117.7C) as a phase change material, considered to have the highestenergy density in the temperature range investigated (90C to 120C). The results show that ?

This paper objective is to analyze by simulations, the thermal comfort and energy consumption when using a radiant cooling ceiling. For this study we have used the simulation energy tool called Trnsys in order to simulatethe system for an office building. Sensible and latent loads were simulated in the office representing a real day situation. Knowing that the cooling system is sensibleto the risk of condensation a control-system was used during the simulations to completely avoid this risk.

One of the significant threats for buildings is the possibility of changes in the building materials’ properties because of the penetration and residence of moisture it them. In the case of insulating materials such damages may initially have an energy co

Installation of an evaporatively cooled hydroponic greenhouse on the roof of building can yield net energy savings for the combined structure, when compared to conventional air conditioning, and can conserve space by adding productive capacity to the rooftop. The proposed system offers energy and water savings far exceeding the levels achieved by traditional green roofs, but requires circumstances that favor co-location of a technically sophisticated agricultural facility with the building.